Tony was born in New Zealand, where he studied and completed a Bachelor of Forestry Science degree from Canterbury University - achieving honors level accreditation in 1985. He then undertook intensive operational level training before moving into management in 1987. Tony subsequently took up an opportunity to move to Indonesia in 1993 where he has been based the majority of the time since. For the first 15 years, Tony worked his way in the Pulp & Paper industry up to Forestry General Manager level, covering all major companies in Indonesia and since 2008 he has worked as a senior level consultant for projects in Asia, Africa, and South America. Tony is now a Director with PT Ata Marie, specializing in Industrial plantation development, biomass based renewable energy, and carbon project development services within Asia, Central America, and Africa.